Martinez

Antonio Maria Martinez 1889-1966

Most of us have been taught a minuscule bit of history concerning our ancestors, Los Conquistadores.  I sought more information than what was available in the normal textbooks and I found a great deal more than I bargained for.  I found the history of my family, my heritage.  Individuals have mistakenly considered Los Conquistadores as scoundrels who came to the New World to “rape, pillage and plunder”.   As I examine their stories, their travels and their history, I found them to be a dignified, brave, and hopeful assemblage.   The transgressions of some have overshadowed the honorable culture and desire of the many soldiers who risked their lives to reach the New World, with its promises of riches and prosperity.

We have heard of Martin Serrano and his travels with Hernan Cortes to the New World, yet we have so many other ancestors who also traveled the journey.   Owning the Martinez surname brings a great deal of pride to those who seize the legacy given to us, but the Martinez line is only a fraction of the inheritance.

The story as researchers tell it is that this long line of Martinez descendants begins as follows:

"Pedro Serrano and Catalina Fernandez, residents of Jerez de Badajoz, in the province of Estremadura, in west central Spain had at least two sons who came to the New World with their wives.  It is also believed that Pedro Serrano was a soldier in Spain and had fought in the armies of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand against the Moors during the early 1480s and into the mid 1490s.  The two sons’ names were Martin Serrano and Bartolome Fernandez.  Existing records show that they landed in Santo Domingo on the island of Hispaniola in 1514.  Shortly after, Martin Serrano and his wife moved to Cuba.  The movements of Bartolome or his descendents are not known at this time.” 

In 1519 Martin Serrano had joined the forces of Hernan Cortes in his expeditions against the Aztecs in Mexico City.  During this time Martin served under the command of don Cristobal de Oñate.  After the conquest of Mexico City, Hernan continued his military service under the command of don Cristobal.  He followed his leader to Guadalajara and a few years later to Zacatecas.  Martin’s wife joined him in Guadalajara and they soon began raising a family.  Their first son, Hernan (also known as Hernando) received his first name after the conqueror of Mexico and his middle name after his father.  His full name becoming Hernan Martin Serrano.  Upon reaching adulthood, Hernan became a soldier under the command of Cristobal de Oñate and later under that of don Cristobal’s son, don Juan de Oñate.  Hernan also names to his first-born son, Hernan Martin Serrano II.  When he became of age, the young Hernan became a soldier following a long family tradition.  (From the book Los Martines 1598-1900, Roger D. Martinez and J. Michael Gaddis).

By the second and third New Mexican generations, the Serrano name was beginning to disappear.  In some documents the double surname was used, and in others only the Martin surname would appear.  By the early 1800s very few people used the Serrano name even though it didn’t completely disappear from important documents.  The growth of this family seemed to outdistance the number of any other Spanish surname in New Mexico. 

The surname Martinez, for the tens of thousands whose roots go back to Spanish Colonial times of New Mexico and are descendents of Hernan Martin Serrano and Juana Rodriguez, it is strictly a New Mexican surname.  There is absolutely no connection to the millions of Martinezes found throughout the world based along history or bloodlines.  (From the book Los Martines 1598-1900, Roger D. Martinez and J. Michael Gaddis).

When don Juan de Oñate, first colonizer of New Mexico arrived at San Juan de Los Caballeros in the summer of 1598, he had with him approximately one hundred and thirty Spanish soldiers, many of these bringing along their families and some Indian servants from New Spain.  Around 1600, approximately eighty additional soldiers arrived, also bringing along some of their families.  The populace of the original founders would be reduced considerably, as a result of battle casualties and uprising, while others would choose to abandon the new territory and return to New Spain.  Consequently, less than forty names originally find in the Oñate muster rolls settled in to inhabit the land.  Although the exact number has not been calculated, you can infer that the numerous surnames in your ancestry begin with this group of settlers.

Many proudly wore their military titles of Sargento or Capitán, however, you will also find titles such as Alferez (meaning ensign or sub-lieutenant) or Alcalde Mayor (meaning governor or magistrate).  

Hernan Martin Serrano II came with the original Juan de Oñate group of Spaniards that colonized what is now New Mexico in 1598.  He was forty years old, a native a Zacatecas, New Spain.  He was “tall in structure, spare bearded and pockmarked”.  He was designed in the 1597 muster roll as the “Sargento de la Expedición”.  His wife, Juana Rodriguez, and family were with him.

In related documents:

Sargento Hernan was assigned to a company commanded by Captain Juan Ruiz de Cabrera.  In a document presented to and approved by the commissary general, Jaime Fernandez, Hernan indicated that he would be accompanied by his wife and listed his possessions as follows:

   Two coats of mail, the one a jaco, a short military jacket with sleeves (mail was a flexible armor made of  metal links or plates, loops of chain or scales);

   Two pairs of cuisse (armor worm to protect the thigh) of mail;

   One beaver (a moveable piece of armor attached to a helmet or breastplate to protect the face, mouth or chin), and casque (helmet);

   One arquebus (a heavy, portable matchlock gun invented during the 15^th century);

   One pistol;

   One gunner’s ladle for making musket balls to be shot from the arquebus or pistol;

   Three coats – one buckskin, the other two of gamuza (chamois);

   One sword and one dagger;

   Four fencing foils (a fencing sword with a flat guard for the hand and a thin blade);

   Two bridles;

   Two sets of spurs;

   Some horse armor;

   Two janeta (military type) saddles;

   Fifteen horses and two mules;

   Twenty horses, young and old;

   Twenty mares, young and old;

   Sixteen unbroken colts;

   Twenty-two tames cows, young and old;

   Two carts (a gift from don Juan de Oñate), with twenty-six oxen;

   A half-dozen pair of horseshoes with nails;

   Two pounds of gunpowder;

   Six pound of shot;

   Seven augers (a tool, larger than a gimlet for boring holes in wood) of different sizes;

   Twelve cutting axes;

   Three adzes (an ax-like tool with an arched blade at right angles to handle) used for shaping wood;

   Two chisels;

   One large bar;

   One hoe;

   One grindstone;

   Three copper ladels;

  One large comal (a flat pan for cooking)

  One barrel, and two pails.

The statement concludes with the following: “All these things, I, Hernan Martin, am taking, as stated, to serve his majesty.  I so swear by God in due manner.”    (signed) Hernan Martin

 

In San Bartolome, Santa Barbara, New Spain, December 6, 1597, Hernan Martin Serrano made the above declaration under oath before the commissary general, who accepted it.   Hernan Martin (signed) and Jamie Fernandez, notary (signed).  (Source:  Archivo General de Las Indias):

In the new land, Hernan Martin Serrano would become the ancestor of thousands and the Martin Serrano name would become known as Martin.  This sizeable family was referred to as “Los Martines”, the Martin Clan, and by the late 1800s “Martinez” had become commonly used in the formal records, including church records and census documentation.